Friday Fill-Ins

It's finally Friday folks (I love alliteration!) and you know what that means... The Friday memes. Here's the one I'm linked up to at Friday Fill Ins

And...here we go!

1. Finishing items on your To-Do list feels great.


2. The solution is found in the Bible.

3. I wish Ben would fall asleep regularly (at a decent hour) instead of dozing off only to then jump which then entails him freaking himself which leads to wailing accompanied by flailing arms and kicking feet. Breaks my heart (and my REM sleep.)


4. How about we just have a glass of iced sweet tea, sit on the porch swing, enjoy the sunshine and spend some time just "being" instead of "doing"?

5. Staying on property at Disney World when you vacation there is something I highly recommend! The perks such as early/late entry into parks, park transportation, monorails, not dealing with trams and parking lots and the adding on of a dining plan (many times at no extra cost) is just something you can't beat!


6. Imagine what the world would be like if politicians or those detained by police in any way had to tell the truth or be struck by lightning immediately upon telling a lie.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to taking middle man to ASI gymnastics to bounce with his friend, Evan, tomorrow my plans include taking Drew to a workshop at Lowes and then to a birthday swimming party for his friend, Sam, and Sunday, I want to enjoy my "Celebrate Drew" day. What IS a "Celebrate Drew Day?" Every month on the actual DATE of my kid's birth, we celebrate them...so that they get special attention every month and not just once a year. It may be a one-on-one date with mom or dad or getting to have an extra special dessert or picking out what we eat for lunch or dinner that day.

Thankful Thursday

It’s that time of week again! Time to list what you are thankful for. This week we are doing things that start with the letter “R.”

Happy Thursday!

I’m thankful for relaxation, Reese’s, rain, rivers, and rock ‘n’ roll.

• Rain... although in Texas we can get some moster storms (like what hit our southeast counties this morning dropping about 8" of rain on them... yuck)
• Rainbows... because Drew finds them fascinating
• Reading...it's a gift to learn to read. It's a gift that keeps on giving and can take you to other times, other places all in the safety of your own home.
• Rangers... Our Rangers baseball team is doing fantastically so far this season!
• Rocky Mountains...they're my most favorite place to be.
• Relaxing...because moms need this
• Rolos...chocolate and caramel....mmmmmmmm
• Radio... I live for music! And... speaking of music...
• Rock music!... I love rock music!
• Recyclers...if you live and consume, you should feel responsible for using less and recycling what you can
• remote control...
  
  

Clutter Be Gone!

Ever since before Ben made his arrival, I've been on this purge sensation. Now, I haven't actually gotten to the whole purging OUT of the stuff yet, it's more in a pile to be purged at a sale. BUT, it's being purged and progress IS progress, my friend!

One thing I've been wanting to do for a couple of years was something with the boys DVDs. We had an awesome Elfa wall storage thing from The Container Store but since we moved the playroom, it doesn't really work so much. So, Plan B was called into play. I went to Wal-Mart and purchased a HUGE binder that holds about 375 DVDs or CDs. Problem solved. I went through and alphabetized all the boys DVDs and then put them in the binder sleeves in alphabetical order. At the end of each letter, I left one 4 page sleeve open in case we purchase any new DVDs with that letter. There is even space for a "miscellaneous" section and the last two pages are nothing but Christmas movies. I LOVE having their DVDs in one location.

If we travel, we'll just take out 5-10 of the DVDs from teh large library and put them in a smaller travel case. I love it!

Oh, and the cases? I advertised that I had them for free on Freecycle and they're ALREADY GONE! Clutter gone! I went from 175 DVD cases I was having a heck of a time storing to one binder full of alphabetized movies.

It's a good thing.

Wednesday Woes

Do you ever just look at the new briefs... you know the ones that are one sentence shockers that make you want to read today's top stories. It's so sad sometimes. Seriously, I just wonder what in the hell is wrong with people! Their thinking is so beyond skewed. Results of this screwed up way of thinking are typically tragic. It's just quite sad.

For instance... just a quick perusal of today's highlights:

• 2nd deadly gas explosion kills 2 (Yes, it's not the first one, it's the 2nd one in 2 days. Seriously, are our gas lines that bad or are the people operating drills on them trained? I wouldn't want to drill for ANYTHING b/c I'd be the one who brings on a volcano or something crazy by punching a hole all the way through to the other side of the world!)
• Suspect twisted guard's testicles (yes, this woman was shoplifting at Home Depot. When the security guard stopped her she pushed him with both hands...they scuffled... a guy got out of a car (the getaway driver) and got in on the action...she twisted his manhood and pulled a pocketknife... so instead of shoplifting.. now she's facing agg. robbery... he cuffed her... she's in jail. Idiots! They need to just be taken out of the gene pool so they don't breed!)
• Houston pastor arrested for wife's death (Oh, and get this... his KIDS were arrested on the whole deal with him too. His home church also conveniently burned down 6 days after her death. Hmmmm... they're saying it's a suspicious fire, too.)
• Fort Worth principal arrested after intoxication arrest (The sorry wench left her THREE AND FOUR year old CHILDREN ALONE IN A DALLAS HOTEL while she was out partying. Got in a fight with the bouncer at the door for not letting her into a club.
• Pregnant MD woman tasered during attack (I didn't read the entire thing through but apparently she came home to find someone in her home. When she realized it was her dad's girlfriend, they scuffled and the woman tasered her THREE TIMES! She's NINE MONTHS PREGNANT! What the frick man... perp is a former federal employee. Mom went into labor...

And these are just TODAY.... stuff like this is EVERY DAY. I want some good news... I want some happy news.

• I'm tired of hearing about our idiot president....yes, because of freedom of speech I can say that I despise this man with every ounce of my being. He's WRECKING our country. Did you read that by 2015 our company's DEBT will exceed our annual GNP. Yeah, tell me how in the world we got there?
• I'm so saddened by the thought of all the animals and birds being affected by the oil spill. Why in the world it hasn't been eradicated by now is beyond me. Nuke it. Melt the rock and let it seal. ANYTHING would be better than what they're doing which is along the same lines as putting a bandaid on a leak in the Hoover Dam.
• I think of how sad it is that we elect people to our political offices and then they become so jaded by the lure of lobbyists they forget who their employers are. Why they pass laws for everyone else and not include themselves in it. If it's good enough for ME, it better darn well be good enough for YOU.
• I'm sad to think of all the people in old folk's homes that have families that are so busy with their own lives, they forget about them. Who wouldn't want to have a visitor?
• What about the fact that criminals and illegals have more rights that we regular citizens do...

When you think about it... there's SO MUCH that you can just feel overwhelmingly sad for. But... I have faith in the people... in the little people that make this country good. I know that there will be judgment for all -- too bad it's not sooner rather than later!

We struck GOLD!

It's my 7th wedding anniversary. Seven years ago today, I married my best friend on the beautiful beaches of Maui, Hawaii. I was sicker than a dog but made it through the nuptials and most of the photos... I did wind up cutting the photo session a tad short but man.... private beach, no bathroom, with severe abdominal distress... I had to leave.... THEN! We've declared that in three years, we will return to renew our vows. I think it will be awesome.

In those seven years we've had our share of hard times but the good times and even the great times far surpass them. We just learn from the hard times... and forget about them and move on. We keep looking to the future. So, even through the hard times, I always hope he knows that at the end of the day, in his arms are where I want to be.

I don't talk about him much on my blog because, well, my blog is about ME! Ha! But for those of you that don't know him... he's my world. My world revolves around him and the boys. My family. My boys.

He is intelligent. He's a history buff with a memory that leaves me in awe. He can recall numbers and dates with ease... from even 30 years ago. It's CRAZY how good he is with numbers. He's witty and has fantastic come backs (while I'm more like George Costanza always thinking of comebacks hours, sometimes days later.) He has habits that drive me crazy (like biting his nails or leaving things wherever they are when he's done with them) but... at the end of the day -- WHO CARES?! He loves movies and lives for documentaries on the mob and WWII. He does everything in the world to make our family secure, happy and loved and to provide us with compassion. With our children, he is swift with discipline but immediate with hugs and understanding. I couldn't ask for a better father. He is so gentle and comforting. But most importantly, I know that no matter what happens, he is my rock. He is my partner. He is my other half. He completes me. He always has my back.

Tonight's anniversary dinner wasn't in some dimly lit swanky restaurant that charged prices based upon the "bikini theory" (you know, the smaller it is, the more it costs), it was in the comfort of our home, accompanied by our handsome young man, Drew. Besides, we have a nursing 11 week old son who tends to be a tad un-angelic between the hours of 9 and 12. I wasn't going to risk leaving him anywhere with pumped milk for fear that a) he wouldn't eat and b) he would be nothing but a nightmare for whomever was watching him (probably would have been my mother-in-law.

Our outing today consisted of a trip to Central Market to get the fixin's for tonight's feast. Drew even got to choose the bread (a freshly baked French baguette.) Tonight's dinner consisted of a delicious rib-eye covered with a tequila-lime rub, oven-roasted seasoned Yukon Gold potatoes, grilled veggies and a turtle cheesecake that was seriously to die for. Now, while the steak was indeed a Del Frisco quality masterpiece... I have to admit that the potatoes I made were freakin' fantastic! I wanted to share my recipe with you. I rinsed off and then cut up 3 large Yukon Gold potatoes into bite sized chunks. They were then placed on a baking sheet in a single layer. I very generously covered with a RICH olive oil and then sprinkled them with a generous coating of onion powder, thick granulated garlic powder, coarse salt and freshly grated black pepper and then using my hands, tossed them around the baking sheet to coat them. I then put them in the oven at 425 for 20 minutes. I then stirred them around, flipped them as best I could and then baked them for another 15 minutes. Oh my GOSH these babies were HEAVEN! Seriously, it doesn't get much better than these.

Benjamin even let me eat my meal warm ... and while he was awake, he actually didn't cry and let me enjoy having my dinner with my husband! What a gift! Seriously -- WHAT A GIFT! :) I also purchased a bunch of flowers for myself (I called Andy and said, "I hope you don't mind but I saw these and wanted them.") So, I got a beautiful bouquet for our table centerpiece for dinner tonight, too.

Oh... and dessert... the turtle cheesecake. Turtle cheesecake is cheesecake topped with chocolate, caramel and pecans. I always add a little more caramel topping (I drizzle the ice cream sundae topping that I keep in my fridge over top). By dessert, Ben was getting a little fussy so Andy finished his and I took Ben to nurse him in the comfy chair. Andy brought mine into me declaring that I needed to eat it now because it was one of the best cheesecakes he'd ever had. I guess I done good! :) Ha ha (yes, I intentionally typed it like that.)

Gifts -- neither Andy nor I are big on gifts but one of the things we agreed upon was a new wedding ring for me since my other one is long gone... we didn't have time to get to it but I'll keep looking for rings in the days/weeks to come. Hopefully we'll replace that soon. I'm not in a huge hurry so we'll see how it goes.

Monday Mayhem

If you could interview anyone in the world for your blog, who would you choose and why? Hmmm... I would love to interview... wow, this is harder than I thought. I think that just interviewing your average person is much more exciting than any celebrity becuase they get interviewed all the time. Finding the real "meat and potatoes" of what makes our country what it is -- is made up of the little excentricities of those who reside within.

Can you remember your last dream? What was it? Not on your life... no clue.

Name 3 places you’d like to go on vacation to. Estes Park, Colorado. Alaska and Europe. I'm including the entire continent because there are too many places there that I'd like to see and I couldn't pick just one. Ha ha!

What scares you the most? Currently, it's the thought of dropping Benjamin. But mostly, it's the thought of something happening to me and not being able eto be there for my chidlren.

What is your favorite book of all time? I love Little Women. Works by Mark Twain are great as well. And, although it's really hard to read, The Bible has to be on the top of the list.

What’s the funniest movie that you’ve seen? Dumb and Dumber, perhaps? It's so stupid it's funny. I loved Funny Farm with Chevy Chase, too.

Where are your kids right now? Josh is in Iowa... Drew is waiting for his dad to get up and buy him some donuts.

What was the last thing you ate? Carnation Instant Breakfast and a piece of toast.

Are you usually late, early or right on time? I'm usually a few minutes late which drives me insane. I'm a punctual person but I'm married to someone that doesn't like being the first one there, nor being on time. He prefers being fashionably late. Doesn't that seem like an oxymoron? Fashionable and Late? Those definitely do not go together.

What is your favorite band or singer? I don't have a favorite one...

Come link up and see what everyone else is saying at Monday Mayhem

Camp Wannalaffalotta - Week One - SUMMERTIME!

I claim no ownership to the title and actually stole it from another blog (Life As A Mom) but it's fun and frankly, it's a great title!

Week one. Our theme is SUMMERTIME! We have a busier schedule than "normal" this week because of an overnighter, two birthday parties and an end of season party so here is what is on the agenda.

Monday

• Library Day
• slip n slide (it's supposed to be over the century mark with the heat index)

Tuesday

• Reading camp 1p-4p
• Overnighter to Mimi's

Wednesday

• Summertime movie at Harkins Theater 9:30-12 with Mimi
• Conduct an experiment regarding temperatures
• Make ice cream in a bag
• End of season t-ball party 5-7pm at bounce place

Thursday

• Reading camp 1p-4p
• Georgia O'Keeffe inspired watercolor paintings
• FAMILY GAME NIGHT! We'll play a board game, card game or some other game around the table together as a family.

Friday

• Birthday party at Summit Climbing Gym 2-5pm
• Make Rainbow Pudding Pops
• View the fireworks over Lake Grapevine (freebie event!)

Saturday

• 10am - Build and Grow workshop at Lowes (we may go pick up the kit and make it at home)
• 11-1:30 - birthday party for a friend
• Watch Surf's Up
• Eat watermelon

Sunday

• Celebrate Drew Day - each month on the specific DAY of each childs birthday we will celebrate them. That way they get something special to look forward to each month.
  

Sprinkled throughout the week we will also do some thematic worksheets (like the ones at http://www.enchantedlearning.com/). I can't wait!